1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to vehicles and more specifically it relates to a vehicle ballast system for providing added weight over the wheels of a vehicle for increased traction and to also serve as a storage container.
2. Description of the Related Art
Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.
Vehicles have been in use for years. Typically, vehicles are driven on a variety of surfaces such as, but not limited to city streets, interstates, highways, and rural roads. When adverse weather conditions arise the need for extra traction is required. This extra traction can come from many different sources (i.e. tire chains, loading the vehicle with sandbags, engaging 4-wheel drive, etc.).
Having extra weight in the cargo area of a vehicle can dramatically affect the vehicles performance while driving. For example when driving from a stopped position or when decreasing vehicle speed the vehicle can respond better by the increased traction. This can reduce the tires from spinning or skidding on slippery surfaces, accumulated by water, ice, snow or mud.
Apparatuses such as sandbags are widely used to increase traction of a vehicle by placing weight over the wheels. One problem with sandbags is that they can be extremely messy as the bags can break open over time. Cleaning up the sand from the sandbags can be a very time consuming project and an overall hassle. Another common device used to increase traction is tire chains. Tire chains can be very difficult to attach to the tires and also are not economical for driving on most surfaces.
There are also weight systems that exist and are built for specific vehicles. These work well for the vehicle that they are built for, but are generally not adequate if you would like to use them on a different style vehicle, as they might not fit the truck bed or cargo area. It can be expensive to buy multiple weight systems for multiple vehicles. A lot of these weight systems are also difficult to install, with some of them even requiring direct fastening to the pickup bed or cargo area with bolts or other permanent fasteners.
While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for providing added weight over the wheels of a vehicle for increased traction and to also serve as a storage container. It is often necessary for vehicles to be loaded with extra weight for traction on slippery road conditions. Many of the other systems require time consuming installation, removal and also may have an unnecessary cost in that you must buy different weight systems for different vehicles.
In these respects, the vehicle ballast system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of providing added weight over the wheels of vehicles for increased traction in winter conditions.